Is this the end?
by fourcellardoor
Summary: When Sasuke left, it was a blow to all who had known him  especially Sakura and Naruto, but when he returns, it seems as though many aspects have changed. Is he a friend? Or an enemy? Not good with summaries, so please, just read it! Read & Review!


**Title: ...Is this the end? **

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or the characters within...I can only claim the idea. So? Let me know what you think! Read and Review! (As always!)**

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The soft white glow of the moon trickled down to the earth illuminating the ground beneath it as a gentle wind brushed past a vast number of lush, emerald green trees until reaching a large opening near the walls of a city. Thick blades of crisp green grassed covered the clearing over which fireflies danced with each other in contentment and serenity. In the center there were a small number of trees that climbed towards the evening sky with branches covered in pink and ivory blossoms. From these branches hung paper lanterns that could no longer offer the golden light that had been presented hours prior; yet, the words and effects could still be seen and felt. Love. Courage. Remembrance. Wisdom. These were the silents prayers of Konoha sent out every season that the cherry blossoms flourish, the silent messages for lovers, friends, and the departed. The wind grasped at the outstretched branches and stole a few pale petals, carrying them across the field alongside the fireflies as a lone figure watched in silent reverie. She stood masked in darkness provided by the shadows of the trees lining the clearing; her delicate hand reached out to allow the wind to give her its offering of a single cherry blossom. Stepping out into the light, her jade eyes glimmered as they went from the fragile piece in her hand to the twilight recital of azure and ivory stars glittering next to the full moon. A star gleamed across the sky, pleading with her to make a wish and thus giving it a purpose as it died, but she did not; she knew that wishes were meaningless. As tears began to accumulate in the corners of her eyes, she forced a smile and demanded that they never fall again. After a year had gone by, she never would talk about it, then another year went by and the time never seemed right - she still could not talk about it. The last three years had felt like an eternity, and each breath she took, every moment that passed, seemed even more painful than the last. The peaceful scene around her faded away as she clenched her fists tightly against her sides and fell into darkness that had slowly begun to consume her. She fell to her knees against the grass causing dirt to clump up around her legs with her whole body shaking, her head hung low as though she had created a terrible offense. Her hands formed fists and reached up before loosening themselves as she grabbed at her hair and screamed towards the heavens.

"I tried, I did everything I could but it was never good enough," her voice had now almost become lost in her sobs. She scratched at the ground, clutching grass in her hands and tearing it from the roots. "I failed you."

There was nothing but silence, her tears and the silence that so often accompanied her where ever she went. He had stolen her heart from her the day he walked away from her and never intended on returning, and now he was stealing her life. Her false pretenses that she had to put up for the sake of her friends and the sake of her sanity were slowly wearing her out. There were times that his name would be spoken followed by the hushed silence as their eyes watched her, afraid she would break right there in front of them. But she would always give them a pretty smile and lies about how wonderful things were in her life. And the memories of him she pretended no longer hurt, yet she still could not talk about it with the burning pain that seared through her. Her hand grasped at the red cloth covering her chest and pulled at where her heart was - she wanted to pull out her heart as she had torn the grass from the ground. The pain felt unbearable, this was a wound that had never healed and it ripped back open on occasions such as this. There was only one person who knew how to put the pieces back together and mend it as best as it could be done. But she would no longer rely on him, it was unfair to him and to everyone else in her life; this was something she had to do on her own. Suddenly, she was pulled back from her heavy heart and darkened thoughts by a voice calling out from behind her.

"Sakura."

Her eyes widened, it was not a voice she welcomed and it caused her body to grow rigid as she spun around to face him. Fear gripped her with its frigid hands starting at her feet and crawling up towards her chest then her neck; a knot formed in her throat and made it all the more difficult to breath. She was still shaking, not from anger or sadness, but from the fear plaguing her. Her hair swayed over her pale green eyes that cast themselves away the moment they met his dark onyx ones. Quickly, she managed to scramble to her feet, but by that time he had already closed the distance between the two.

"Sa-su-ke," her voice was shaky as she called out to him. His hand moved towards her face and she braced herself for an impact, but it did not come. After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open to greet his as he watched with a smirk playing across his face. Her arms that had been held near her face defensively, dropped downwards and fell limply to her sides as a hesitant smile began to grow on her face. Without any time to react, his hand struck her temple splattering blood on the ground and sending her into a nearby tree. She fell limp as she coughed out blood and stared up at him in fear; quickly, she climbed back up to her feet while trying to dispel the dizziness that she felt. With one hand, she kept herself upright with the help of the tree, but the ground beneath her kept spinning and her body was swaying. Her other hand went to the throbbing pain on the side of her face which allowed the warmth of her blood to coat two of her fingertips. She glanced back in his direction but it was too late, he was already close enough to her and delivered a swift kick to her stomach. Sakura doubled over in pain as her arms clutched her stomach now and she began to cough even more; she knew she needed to gather herself or he was going to kill her where she stood. Her eyes glanced at the blossom she had been holding only moments prior that now lay beneath her feet covered her own blood. As she fought to breathe, taking in shallow breaths, she spoke angrily in an attempt to appear stronger than she felt. "Why? Why didn't you just kill me? Why didn't you just kill the both of us?"

"It never seemed like the right time before now," his voice was calm as he spoke causing her eyes to be filled with both anger and confusion. This was not the Sasuke she knew, but then again, she would have never thought the Sasuke she knew would have abandoned all of his friends for power because he felt they were a burden. Her eyes narrowed as she swiftly went to grab two kunai from her pouch, but he was quicker and managed to roughly grab her wrists. She struggled against him with all of her strength yet he snapped her right wrist with ease; a scream of pain emitted from her lips while he dangled her above the ground. _Why? Is this pain what you what me to feel? Is this all I meant to you?_

"What is wrong, Sakura? Isn't this what you wanted? Didn't you want me to come back to you?"

"No, n-n-no, not like this," she fought against him while trying to choke back the tears, but was not able to loosen his grip or keep the tears from spilling over. Her feet began to glow from the chakra she was attempting to build there but he seemingly knew better. He shook her and knocked her head against the tree, leaving her barely able to stay conscious let alone fight. This was what was going to be her last moment, this was how she was going to die: alone, and Sasuke was going to be the one to finish her. The tears were now streaming down her face as she bit her bottom lip and refused to look him in the eyes, and thus causing him to pause momentarily. She glanced up at him as his eyes stared at her, never making contact with hers, but continued looking over her face as though she were a piece of art; finally, his eyes met hers and he smiled.

"You know, Sakura, your more beautiful when you're fighting for your life."

She was taken aback by his sudden expression of emotion, but soon realized it was only fleeting once he ran a sword through her abdomen. With one hand gripping the sword tightly, he twisted it ever so slightly while the other hand squeezed her throat tighter and tighter with each passing moment. Sakura, confused by the two methods he was using at once, pulled at his hand wrapped around her throat while the other fought to hold the sword in place. Her world was starting to become more and more like static, the pain was excruciating, and she had started to think that she should just give up. What reason did she have to keep fighting for her life when it had been nothing since he left? The person who had her heart was going to murder her, but to her, it seemed fitting considering the life each person had led up to this point. Darkness began to consume the edges of her vision, yet she would not take her eyes off of his and the darkness grew. Soon nothing was in focus except for his eyes and she could feel the life leaving her; then, a voice called out and brought the world back into focus.

"Uchiha," a voice growled from behind the struggling girl. "I have come to put an end to this."


End file.
